Farmers Doors Announced 2016 Supplier of the year

On face value farmers and the glittery Gold Coast, complete with its golden beaches and towering penthouses might not look to have much in common – that is until you meet the innovative team behind Farmers Doors. Proudly Gold Coast established, Farmers Doors was announced as the 2016 Supplier Of The Year for Lincoln Sentry earlier this month.

National Cabinet Hardware Manager Kevin Bruce said following rigorous assessment on areas including a supplier’s procurement practices, strategy and product management, it was a great thrill to have the Farmers’ team formally recognised as Lincoln Sentry’s Supplier Of The Year for 2016.

“Christian Farmer is one of the most passionate people I’ve met in my life and you can’t help but be motivated by spending time with him. From humble beginnings Christian and his team, many of whom are family members, are standout leaders when it comes to handcrafted doors,” said Kevin.

It was back in 1975 when a young cabinet maker/wood machinist/furniture polisher, by the name of Christian Farmer first had the idea and more importantly the courage to strategically change his business in an industry that had been founded on tradition.

“When I look back now I have to admit it was a brave move to change focus with our family business, but at the time when I started Farmers Doors it felt like such a natural progression,” Christian said.

“My wife Narelle and I had a young family of five children and while I always had a passion for creating things myself, I knew I didn’t want to continue working as a cabinet maker producing kitchen after kitchen in the long term.

“From my years working as a cabinet maker I identified a genuine opportunity to supply cabinet makers with quality handcrafted doors. So with encouragement from Narelle, we backed ourselves and established Farmers Doors.

“The take-up of our first collection, which we named Waratah in honour of our Australian heritage, laid the platform for our business and has formed the basis of our current offering of products. Testimony to the enduring popularity and style of this door, we are continuing to produce Waratah some 41 years later.

“Over the years we’ve expanded our business and now offer customers five main door profiles. While different in styles, our doors are all handcrafted and customised to showcase any room in the home.

“We pride ourselves in using only solid timber in our mouldings and features, as well as natural timber veneer on the surface of our doors. We seal and finish our doors using a fully accredited waterborne paint system with extremely low VOCs,” Christian said.

Lncoln Sentry Category Manager Sophie Willis said Farmers Doors is the only business in Australia creating doors in this manner.

“We’ve been distributing Farmers Doors for the last 20 years and they have firmly established a name for producing premium products in an environmentally sustainable manner. “Their readiness to invest in innovation, while remaining true to the time honoured craft of cabinet making is what sets Farmers Doors apart from its competitors.

“Christian along with his wife Narelle have both played a major role in establishing a culture at Farmers Doors where every job matters. Their small team of 11 employees is trained across all areas of the business and this makes a big difference in getting a job done right the first time,” said Sophie.

Inspired by the textured look from this year’s EuroCucina, Farmers Doors worked with Lincoln Sentry to develop its latest style called Weathered Oak, which was launched at AWISA 2016 and is available exclusively to Lincoln Sentry customers.